Where Squints Become Kings
by seeleybaby
Summary: Booth is asked by the FBI to take care of some business at the Jeffersonian. Brennan isn't pleased with this, AT ALL, but Booth does it anyway. Not much Brennan in the story at all, but friendshippy. Short, Sweet, and Complete!
1. Chapter 1

This story is somewhat fluff free, and is more about Booth taking care of business. I hope you like it. It's different than most of the stories I write. I wrote this story before the finale as well, before it seems everyone actually knows the 'truth' about Zack. So please take that into consideration as you read this.

--b&b--

Early one morning.....

"You wanted to see me, Sir?" Booth knocked lightly on Cullen's door.

"Ah, yes, Booth. Come in" the director stood. "Close the door, and have a seat."

Booth rolled his shoulders back as he sat, a compulsory smile of sorts on his face.

Cullen's was even less accommodating, and he steepled his fingers in front of his mouth. "Booth…I trust you."

"Uh…thank you, sir."

"Right, but, Dr. Brennan…"

Booth stiffened. "Bones is solid, right?"

"Her status as liaison is still intact, and not in any danger, Booth" Cullen conceded, "but the Dr. Addy fiasco…"

Booth pulled in a breath. "I understand."

"It's bad business for the FBI to have a liaison associated with a cannibalistic serial killer."

"Again, I understand."

Cullen nodded. "Good. Then you'll understand this assignment." He handed Booth a file.

Booth took a moment to open it up. His eyebrows flew upward.

"Booth, I'm _sure_ you understand the seriousness of this task."

"Yes sir" Booth nodded. "I understand."

But there was one person he needed to talk to. He was going to need help.

--b&b—

"And you want me to help?" Hodgins raised his eyebrows.

Booth leaned forward on the diner bar, motioning for another cup of coffee. "Yeah. I do."

"Huh" Hodgins nodded. "Zack's my friend, or was my friend, you know."

"Got it" Booth agreed. "But Cullen is making me collect all the current squint students and find out whether or not they are trustworthy."

"Again I ask" Hodgins looked at him, "You want me to help?"

Booth sighed. "You're like the head guy squint, and I figure…" Booth pressed his tongue to the inside of his mouth. "I figure you can help me relate to these guys." He shook his head. "Look, Zack and I…we didn't really get along, you know? I tolerated him," Booth admitted, "and looking back, I realized I probably could have been nicer to him, been more understanding, you know?"

Hodgins nodded to himself. "Yeah, I definitely get that."

Booth spared a glance toward Hodgins and nodded, understanding that the scientist was being real with him. "And uh, look Hodgins, I'm doing this because my boss told me to, but also…" he pulled in a long breath, "also because I don't _ever_ want to see that look on Bones' face again, you know?"

"Yeah, man. I know." He winced, "How are you going to tell her about this?"

Booth nodded and patted Hodgins on the back. "Just leave that to me."

--b&b--

"This is HIGHLY inappropriate" Brennan clenched her fists and stormed around the lab table to get into Booth's face. "They are MY grad students; you have NO right to do this."

Booth opened his hands toward her calmly. "The way I see it, you got two choices, Bones. Deal with this, or be angry. Either way, it's happening. I suggest you deal with it" he smirked.

"Do you know about this?" Angela asked Hodgins as he joined them on the platform.

"Yep" he nodded and spared a glance toward Brennan. "And I'm also going."

Brennan's head reared back. "No. I draw the line at this, Booth. You can't take my team away from me."

"I volunteered" Hodgins lied, and Booth raised his eyebrows but smiled. Nice…

"Come on, Bones" he shrugged. "Accept it. This is _the_ Federal Bureau of Investigation of _THE_ United States of America, so…" he ran his tongue against his teeth and leaned down to whisper dramatically in her ear, "you're probably gonna want to go ahead and go along with this one."

She swatted him away like an annoying bug and turned toward Cam with her hands on her hips, "And you approved this?"

"I did" Cam asserted. "And if you would actually listen to Booth's reasons why, I think you would agree."

"Yeah, Bones" Booth taunted and leaned over her shoulder, then laughed when she swatted again his direction.

"What's all this about?" Sweets asked as he walked up the platform steps. "I'm sensing a lot of negative energy"

Booth chuckled. "That's just Bones. She's mad because I'm taking all the squinterns on a little camping trip, and she's not invited."

"That's NOT why I'm mad, Booth." She lowered her voice as if everyone wouldn't just listen in closer. "You have no right to do this!"

Booth's face got serious, and he pulled her aside, his voice also lowering. "Listen up, Bones, and listen good. You and I _both_ know what this is about, and we can talk about it, if you want, here, in front of everyone, or…" his grip loosened, and she pulled back her arm, crossing it with her other one in front of her chest, "or, you can let me do _my job_, and _do_ this, okay?"

Brennan gritted her teeth and looked around to where the team looked back at them. "I suppose…I suppose I could spend the time archiving ancient remains."

To his credit, Booth didn't gloat, he just clapped his hands twice and turned toward the rest of the team. "So that's that. Hodgins, go…do whatever it is you do to get ready, and gather up the guys. It's time for a meeting."

"No, wait" Sweets blocked Hodgins' path. "I think there is more that needs discussed." He pulled at his collar a bit. "As a trained psychiatrist, and both an FBI employee AND asset to the Jeffersonian team, I feel I should go along to observe. Professionally."

Hodgins looked at Booth, and the agent shook his head. "Sorry, Sweets. I don't think so."

The younger man swallowed and looked down. "I see…" he turned then to walk away, and Hodgins looked at Booth with a smile, then called out, "Hey, Dr. Sweets."

"Yeah?" Sweets turned around.

Booth grinned. "Do you WANT to come?"

Sweets raised his eyebrows and rocked back on his heels. _Invited_ never even crossed his mind."Totally" he breathed, then cleared his throat. "Uh, I mean…sure, I guess…"

Booth clapped his hands again, "Then bring on the squints!" He pulled out at list, "First one...Arastoo Vaziri?"

With a sigh, he exhaled through his nose and clicked his tongue against his teeth. "Come on down."


	2. Chapter 2

Booth swallowed back a hint of nervousness as he looked around the conference room. "Okay" he clapped his hands together and rubbed them briskly. "I call your name, you raise your hand, got it?"

There were a few nods, which was a good sign, and so he held up his paper.

"Clark Edison."

The man smiled slightly and raised his hand, and Booth nodded. "How ya doin, Clark?"

Clark tilted his head. "I'd be better if I were in the lab and not here, but…such is life, apparently."

Booth forced a smile. "Right…okay, next…Wendell Bray…my man, Wendell" he nodded toward the young blond.

Wendell just raised his hand and nodded.

"Okay…" Booth looked down the list. "Scott Starret"

The older man looked up and nodded. "Yes sir. Present."

Booth smiled. "For the purposes of this weekend, you're going to be called "Pops", got it?"

Mr Starret smiled, "Works for me…won't be the first time."

"Colin Fischer?"

Booth looked around, but no one raised his hand. "Colin Fischer… anyone?"

A younger man raised his hand. "I don't usually like to be called by my real name on Wednesdays. It's a show of solidarity for those whose names have been stripped from them by the bowels of society."

Booth chewed on the inside of his cheek, then let himself imagine all of the things he could do with the raise in money he was going to demand after this weekend. "Well, seeing as how it's actually Thursday…why don't you go ahead and raise your hand, hmmm?"

"It's Thursday?" Fischer raised his eyebrows. "Well, what do you know?" he raised his hand as well. "Colin Fischer, present and accounted for."

Booth inhaled slowly and looked to Hodgins, but the scientist just smiled and nodded. "Welcome to my world, dude."

Booth chuckled and smoothed his hand down his tie. "Vincent Nigel-Murray"

"Ah, yes" the young man nodded. "That would be me. Vino Delectable, at your service."

"Yeah" Booth drawled. "Don't ever call yourself that again….thanks."

He turned toward the newest member, "And Mr. Vaziri, whom I met earlier."

"Yes, Agent Booth, and the pleasure is mine, I assure you."

Booth smiled. "I like this guy" he said to no one in particular. "And last, but not least…" he pointed to Sweets. "Daisy."

"Haha, very funny" Sweets shook his head. "You're so hilarious."

The other guys at the table chuckled and Wendell gave Sweets a punch on the arm.

"And just how is Ms. Wick these days?" Pops asked him.

Sweets flushed but nodded. "She is good. She said to say hello to all of you."

Booth clapped his hands together. "Well as much as I'm loving all of this feel-goodery, we've gotta run. I want to get to the campsite before sundown. Gotta get those tents set up."

The rest of the group stood and began to file from the door.

"Goodbye Dr Brennan" each one muttered as they passed her near the forensic platform, her disapproval evident in the way her hands rested on her hips.

Booth was the last to exit and he walked up to her and stood very close. "I'll see you soon, Bones. And don't worry, I'll keep your students safe"

"That's…that's not what I'm worried about" she turned abruptly and walked away.

"What?" Booth took a step toward her.

"Hey Booth!" Hodgins called. "Let's go, man!"

Booth took another look toward his partner, then decided he'd figure out what she was worried about later.

--b&b—

After all the squints piled their bags into the back of the SUV, they climbed into sit inside, followed by Sweets. Hodgins had already informed them he'd be riding shotgun; no exceptions. And so he and Booth were the last to put their things in the back. But Pops was waiting for them.

As Booth tossed his bag and tent in the back, Pops stopped him for a moment.

"I know what this is about" he said.

"Oh yeah?" Booth smirked. "Considering we just had a meeting about that very thing, I'm glad to know you do. Give this one a gold star, Hodgins."

Pops just chuckled. "Okay, then. We'll play it that way. I know what this is really about. For you."

Booth's eyes narrowed and he glanced toward Hodgins. The scientist shrugged a shoulder.

"It's possible, dude. This guy has a way of knowing things."

"Huh" Booth nodded and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Well, how's about we just keep that between the three of us?" he swirled his index finger in a circle.

"Sure, sure" Pops patted him on the arm. "Just know I'm happy to listen, if you have anything to talk about."

Hodgins raised his eyebrows and went over to the side. Booth clenched his teeth. "I'll be the one doing the talking to, thank you very much" he muttered to himself as he opened his driver side door.

"All set?" he called to the back and was answered by several grunts.

"Great…" he sighed.

Thankfully, most of the guys in the back were capable of carrying on conversation with one another, so Booth just drove.

"I saw a guitar in the back" Hodgins mentioned quietly. "Who do you think it belongs to?"

Booth checked his rearview mirror. "Hmmm….I don't know…maybe Fischer? He'd be the type, right?"

Hodgins shrugged. "Yeah, I'd say so."

Booth groaned. "Yeah, I'm sure he's got about 1,000 songs of despair and loneliness. " He shook his head. "Somebody shoot me, please."

Hodgins chuckled. "Yeah, that's probably his number one hit."

Booth looked at the scientist from the corner of his eyes, then chuckled. "Yeah" Okay, this might not be TOO terrible.

--b&b—

Sweets sat in the back of the SUV and nodded occasionally at what he thought were the right times. He was no dummy, but jeez, these guys were smart! But Daisy had said they were pretty fun in class, and that he really had nothing to worry about. Sooo….

"Hey guys, uh…seen any good movies lately?"

The chatter stopped, and Sweets winced. "Uh, forget I asked."

"Nah, nah...that's cool." Wendell nodded. "Yeah, I think I saw one recently. Hmmm…what was it called?'

"Sweets and Daisy make a porno?" Clark joked, and the other guys laughed.

"Haha, very funny" Sweets shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Now, gentlemen" A wise voice spoke up from the middle seat. "Ms. Wick is not here to defend herself, and so, therefore, she should not be spoken about like that."

The laughter died down a bit.

"Sorry, Pops."

"Yeah, Pops…sorry."

He just nodded and pointed to Sweets. "That should have been your line, but… I'll let it slide this time."

Sweets nodded. "Right…yes sir."

Truthfully, this was the first time he'd ever done anything like this. No Boy Scouts, no chess team overnighter…nothing.

But he guessed that kind of teasing was a sign of acceptance, so secretly he felt pleased.

--b&b—

Booth and Hodgins shared a smile as Booth pulled into their destination. Sure, they'd been driving for a couple of hours, but none of these guys needed to know that they were actually on the back end of Hodgins' estate.

Booth pulled up to a small graveled area and cut his engine, turning with a smile, "Okay, gentlemen, out."

He pointed toward a field area, "Go ahead and set up your tents over there."

As he watched the scientists discuss the physics of tent-setting up, he shook his head and picked up his phone.

"Uh, yes sir. This is Booth. Yes…we've arrived."

Booth pressed his tongue to the inside of his cheek as his boss reiterated the seriousness of the task at hand.

"Yes sir. I understand."

He closed his phone, then jogged to the back of the SUV, pulling out his tent to set up.

"Need help?" Sweets asked him, and Booth turned, surprised.

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks though, Sweets. You got your tent set up already?"

Sweets shrugged a shoulder. "Yeah. I pretty much just read the directions and it worked."

They both turned toward the squints, all standing around in a circle, around a mass of piping and fabric.

"Just how many squints DOES it take to put up a tent, anyways?" Booth joked.

Sweets nodded. "Good thing we don't have to use lightbulbs."

"Seriously" Booth chuckled. "I uh…I was just talking with Cullen."

Sweets held back, and Booth turned toward him.

"He said Bones called him, demanding our whereabouts."

Sweets smiled. "Yeah, I'm sure. She's probably very unhappy with this whole arrangement."

Booth blew out a breath and shrugged. "Yeah, well. It's not really her choice, and…it's for her own good. Even if she refuses to believe that."

"Do you believe that?"

Booth hiked his bag onto shoulder. "How about you analyze someone else for a change, hmm?"

Sweets just smiled, "Yeah, okay" he nodded as he walked over to help set up some tents.

--b&b--

It was close to dark when Booth completed setting up his tent, but he also wanted to get a good fire started, so he made his way back to the general group and raised his hand for attention.

"Just wanted to let you all know that I'm going to search for some good firewood. I'll be back in a bit. Stick around, because I have some things I want to talk to everyone about."

The group nodded, and Booth turned on his heels to head to the wooded area.

"Ey yo, Booth!"

Booth turned around, "Wendell..what's up?"

"Hey," the blonde pressed his palms together, "I'm done setting up my tent, so I'll help you get the firewood, if you want."

"Sure, sure" Booth nodded slightly and patted him on the shoulder as they continued on their way, "Thanks, Wendell. And I gotta say, it's good that you are showing some initiative here. That's a good thing."

"Ah…" Wendell smiled slightly and nodded as they took bigger steps over some fallen logs, "So it's true, then?"

Booth paused, "So…what's true?"

"Well, uh…we heard that Dr. Brennan couldn't decide which one of us to keep, and so she asked you to bring us all out here to decide."

Booth's eyebrows rose, "You heard that?" He chuckled, "Not from Bones, I'm sure."

"Yeah, no. No…I don't know where it came from, Agent Booth." Wendell bent over and picked up a few sticks, "But, is it true?"

Booth sighed; it wasn't like he could reveal the real reason right yet, "Wendell, I can honestly say that she did not ask me to bring you guys out here."

"Oh"

"But" Booth continued, seeing the opportunity, "I gotta say that it's nice to know that you all would do it, if you thought she'd wanted you to."

"Oh yes, Dr. Brennan…she's the best. We all want to be with her." Wendell cleared his throat, "I mean not be with her, be with her, like YOU are with her. I mean…" he blinked quickly a few times, "Uh…not that, you know…you ARE with her, with her, like that, or if you were that we would know, or that we would even talk about it, or…actually…I'm going to shut up now and pick up more firewood."

Booth forced a smile. "Hey, a squint who knows when to shut up? Not bad."

But he had to admit he was pleased that these guys seemed to understand how…_special_ Bones was.

--b&b--

They got back to the campsite and Booth was pleased that Hodgins had set up a nice pit to start.

"Hey, hey, this looks good" he smiled and rubbed his hands together, "Let's get this fire going."

"Fire?" a chorus of excited squints echoed.

"Yeah…" Booth groaned, "A fire!"

Oookay, so that's one way to gather the troops.

The fire roared to life pretty quickly, which was good, and Booth took to stirring it to life as the rest of the group hung out a bit. Booth was pleased to see a football get tossed around; that had potential.

"So, Agent Booth"

Booth turned to see Pops sitting near him, sharpening some sticks for roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. "Yeah, Pops, what's up?"

He smiled, "You know, what you're doing here, it's a good thing."

Booth sobered up "Okay, look…"

"Now, now…" he stood, "Just know I'm happy to listen, if you have anything to talk about."

"Yeah" Booth tilted his head to the side, "you said that this afternoon."

"The offer still stands" Pops smiled, "Ah, it looks like everyone is headed back."

Booth looked in the direction of the field and noticed the other guys coming back. They were laughing and he watched as Hodgins tossed Fischer the football and ruffled his head when he caught it.

"A real good thing" Pops repeated, then handed out the sticks to each guy who came around the campfire.

--b&b--

Sweets watched with interest as all of the interns made themselves comfortable around the fire. They displayed an ease he was envious of, and he supposed it was because these guys already had the shared experience of being in Dr. Brennan's courses. The only education he'd received from her was being schooled by her and Agent Booth weekly in their sessions.

With a smirk, he turned toward the agent, and observed. For a moment, Booth's gaze was unsure as he looked around the circle. It was clear to him that Booth was intimidated by the IQ levels of his current 'foot soldiers' as it were, but Sweets also recognized the innate leadership Booth had.

Sweets opened his mouth to ask Booth what he'd wanted to tell the group, but the sound of guitar strumming caught his attention instead.

It caught the attention of everyone in the group actually.

Hodgins spared a surprised glance with Booth and the agent returned it with a slight smile.

"Clark, dude" Hodgins blinked, "Had no idea you were a musician."

The quieter man shrugged a shoulder and kept his eyes on his guitar, the sweet strums almost electric in the quiet night air, "It's a hobby."

"I'd say it's more than a hobby" Booth spoke up, "You sound great."

"And that's a Martin authentic" Fischer scooted an inch closer and reached his hand out as if he wanted to touch the guitar.

Clark paused in his playing and looked at him, "You can play, if you want."

"Oh, no" Fischer shrugged, "I'm a hack at best. That's a…well, it's worth more than my life, that's for sure."

Clark smirked and resumed playing, "Any requests?"

The men looked around at one another, wondering if it was possible that they would have anything in common.

No one spoke up, so Clark chose…

"_Almost heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River_…."

Booth chuckled to himself at the somewhat corny choice, but looked up in surprise as one by one each person started to sing along…

"………_country roads, take me home….to the place I belong_…"

Okay, yeah. It was a good song. Everyone needed a place to belong. He knew that.

--b&b--

When the song was over, the silence that followed was slightly awkward and Vasiri cleared his throat, "Yes, Agent Booth" he raised his hand in respect, "I believe that you mentioned you had some important information to discuss with us."

Booth swallowed and took a look at the men around the makeshift circle. He leaned forward until his elbows rested against his knees and nodded, "Yeah, I did. I did."

Another look around the fire showed each person was listening with rapt interest and respect and Booth smiled slightly. His Bones was a good teacher, these guys were well trained. But they were here because of Bones, so he needed to stay focused.

"Well, actually" he cleared his throat, "All of that can wait." He forced a smile and clapped his hands together, "What I want to see now is how you smart guys do at roasting marshmallows." He looked to Hodgins for support, and the scientist nodded.

"Well, I haven't told any of you about this experiment I did once, but…"

And within minutes, Booth watched as the interns tried to outdo each other.

After a couple of hours, including the longest scientifically proven string of marshmallow from one human to another, Booth stood up, "Well, gentlemen, I'm going to head to my tent. You are welcome to stay up as long as you'd like. Tomorrow at 6AM, I'll be meeting here for a run if anyone wants to meet me. Goodnight."

Each intern stood in respect as Booth walked away, and he smiled as he heard them laughing again, teasing about some sort of molecular something.

--b&b--


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Booth tossed on a white t-shirt and some mesh shorts, then crawled out of his tent. He guessed he'd be running solo, which was fine. Hodgins had mapped out a pretty sweet trail for him.

And so he bent over to tie his shoelaces and was surprised to see another pair of shoes approach. Rising with a slight groan, his eyebrows rose. "Vincent. You a runner?"

"I must say I am, Agent Booth" he smiled, "If you don't mind my joining you, that is."

"No, no" Booth shrugged and chuckled when they were joined by Wendell and Fischer, and then Clark. "You guys are all coming, huh? Nice."

Booth turned and saw Vasiri walking toward the clearing. The other man turned as if knowing he was being watched. Booth guessed he was looking for somewhere quiet for his meditations, and he gave a small salute.

It was returned, and when Booth turned around, he noticed Sweets jogging over too.

"Huh" he smirked, "We got ourselves a little band of squint joggers, I guess."

"Pops said he's staying behind to make breakfast" Wendell pulled his foot up from behind and stretched his thigh muscles.

"Well, then I'd guess we'd better get going so we can get back" Booth clapped his hands once, "Follow me gentlemen."

--b&b—

The path in the woods was clear from brush, and it was easy to jog. The group stayed together mostly, but there wasn't a lot of conversation. The air was slightly damp, and Booth tugged at the hem of his t-shirt to pull it away from his body.

From the corner of his eye, he saw that Nigel Murray was keeping pace with him, and he smiled slightly, "So…you're from England, right?"

"Right-o" Vincent nodded.

"Cool" Booth grinned, "You know, Bones and I have been there."

"Yes, I remember."

"Oh, so, your class got cancelled or something, when Bones was gone?"

"No, Agent Booth" Nigel Murray looked over at him, "I was there, at Oxford, when you were there. You and Dr. Brennan. It's what inspired me to move over here to complete my studies."

"No kidding" Booth was surprised. "So you've been here since then?"

"Right again, Agent Booth. And, you know…it's not that bad. Except the beer."

Booth chuckled, "Well, I'll have to hook you up, I guess." He laughed to himself then, "So when you get back to the lab, you gotta tell Bones you think I should be knighted."

"Sir Booth. It has a rather nice ring to it."

"That's what I'm saying!" Booth exclaimed, then laughed, "Gotta hook me up!"

Vincent laughed, "Well…" he sighed, "it would be nice to go home again. I do miss it…"

Booth paused as he heard the younger man's voice grow softer and almost nostalgic. "Yeah, I bet. It's probably pretty hard being away from home like that. Actually, I know exactly what that feels like. I uh…I was in Kosovo, and…you know…away from home and stuff."

"My older brother died there" Vincent said, then stopped running.

Booth paused too, "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah…I, uh…I'm okay" Nigel Murray began jogging again and Booth watched him for a moment before jogging again. He noticed the two of them were pretty far ahead of the rest of the group.

"I haven't really told anyone about that, so if you could keep that….under your hat, I would be in your debt, Agent Booth"

Booth blinked a couple of times at the way his tone had regained its happy go lucky quality, "Sure, sure. I won't say anything."

And neither of them said anything else for the rest of the jog.

--b&b—

"Good jog?" Pops greeted them all back at the campsite with mugs of coffee, "Breakfast is almost ready."

Booth skipped on the coffee and chugged some water from his canteen in his tent. And a red blinking light on his phone caught his eye. He chuckled as he opened it, then tossed it in the air and caught it as he made his way back to where the rest of the guys were eating pancakes and debating whether or not Angela was going to stay celibate.

"Okay, okay" Hodgins groaned good naturedly, "Enough with that."

Booth smiled and held up his phone, "Quick check. How many of you have received voicemails, emails and or text messages from Dr. Brennan."

Uneasy looks were shared, and then one by one, hands went up.

"I see" Booth pressed his tongue to the inside of his cheek, "They are not to be returned, understood."

A chorus of "Yes, Agent Booth" followed him as he made his way over to his tent.

"Brennan"

"Bones…" he hissed into the phone, "Would you just drop it?"

"I want to know where you are, Booth." Her voice was slightly whiny, and Booth took the opportunity of her absence to smile and roll his eyes.

"Bones…if you want to come camping with me sooo badly, why didn't you say so? I'll take you camping."

She huffed and hung up on him, and Booth just laughed as he tossed his phone in his tent.

"Hey, uh, Agent Booth?"

Booth turned, "Yeah, oh, hey Sweets."

"Yes, right. Well, I just wanted to commend you on your excellent leadership skills here"

Booth sighed, but Sweets either missed it or ignored it.

"it's really quite impressive the way all of those guys" he pointed toward the group, "Look up to you."

Booth shrugged a shoulder and shook his head, "It's not that big of a deal."

"Right" Sweets chuckled, "You know, I'm wondering why it's so hard for you to accept compliments."

Booth threw up his hands, "Jeez, Sweets. Would you stop analyzing every little thing? This is why I didn't want to invite you" he huffed and started walking away, then turned back, "Did you ever stop to think that maybe what you're talking about could be something private and important?"

Sweets opened his mouth to ask how something could go from 'not that big of a deal' to 'private and important', but at the set of Booth's jaw, he shut his mouth and nodded. "Right. Sorry. I was just trying to be nice."

Booth sighed. "Great. Thanks a million. Now can we go back now?" He clapped Sweets on the back as they made their way back from the tents.

--b&b—

Breakfast was cleared away and Booth gave all the guys an hour to shower or change or do whatever they wanted to do before they were supposed to meet up with him again.

"Are you ready for this?" Sweets asked him, and Booth rolled his eyes.

"You don't even know what 'this' is, Sweets."

"Actually" Sweets crossed his arms in front of his chest, "I do. Cullen called me into his office and gave me a run down."

"No kidding"

Sweets ignored Booth's tone and nodded, "Yes. And I've kept it to myself. I was just wondering if you wanted to run your ideas by me. Not for approval or anything" he was quick to add, "But just to make sure you really know what you want to say."

Booth tugged on his earlobe for a moment and looked up at the sky, "I don't know Sweets. I'm not really a run through kind of guy. I like to wing it."

"Suit yourself" Sweets shrugged, "Just an offer. But I think everyone is having a good time."

Booth watched as Sweets looked back out to the crowd of interns. Fischer and Vasiri were tossing a frisbee, and Clark had gotten his guitar out again. And he understood.

"You could join them, I'm sure."

"What? No…" Sweets shook his head, "Nah, I mean….it's not really…I'm not really, you know."

Booth chewed on the inside of his bottom lip, "Right, right." He pulled in a deep breath and resigned himself to doing the right thing, "Well, in that case, maybe I will run a couple of my ideas by you. If you don't mind that is."

Sweets shrugged casually, "No, I don't mind."

Sweets nodded a few times as Booth outlined his plan.

--b&b--

An hour or so later, Booth cleared his throat and received the attention of the group. He ran the back of his knuckle against his nose and swallowed, "Right. Well. Last night I mentioned I had some items to discuss with you all. It's pretty much the main reason for the trip. And now seems to be as good a time as any to get down to it. So what will happen is I'll say what I need to say, and then if there are any questions at the end, you can ask me. Got it?"

Several heads nodded, and Booth pressed his palms together,

"Right. So…as you know, I have been partners with Dr. Brennan for a few years now. And Bones and I, well, we've been through a lot together. She's really…well, she's the strongest, toughest woman I've ever known, and I'm sure some of you know that, because she grades your papers."

Chuckles spread throughout the group and Booth smiled, "But, and uh…don't EVER tell her I said this to you. If you do tell her…" he palmed the back of his neck, "Well, it won't be good for you, I promise you that." He cleared his throat, "She is the strongest woman I know, but it doesn't mean she doesn't have…areas to improve on. But she works hard to connect, in her own way, and she wants you to become better than you are. I know she does."

Booth caught Hodgins' eye from the back of the group, and the other man gave a slight nod, "But, she's had a rough year, in some ways. And this trip is my way, and the FBIs way of making sure that never happens again. At least not in the lab. And that's where you all come in. You see, Bones…she…" Booth shifted his weight from one foot to another, "She's strong, and she has opinions, but she can be quiet, too, sometimes. She's a thinker, God knows, but sometimes she over thinks. And sometimes she accepts things that aren't true, because she doesn't take the time to talk to anyone about them."

Booth realized he was rambling when he saw Sweets looking surprised. Yeah, this was kind of off the script.

"The point is, though, that Bones…well, the FBI would say that this whole trip is to save image. All that Zack stuff, a cannibalistic serial killer's apprentice working on the same team as the Jeffersonian's liaison? Yeah, not so good for the image. But I don't really care about the image right now. I care about Bones. And I'm saying that if you want to be on her team, you gotta be legit. I need you to take it seriously. I know some of you think I've been asked to bring you all out here to choose one of you, but that's not happening. I think…" he paused and pulled in a deep breath, "The FBI recommends that instead of one person, which is a lot of pressure on any person, really, but instead of just one person, that the team be used. So we'll see about that. Bones is on board, but it's not really up to her."

He chuckled, "And don't tell her I said that either, okay?"

He got some smiles and nods, "But seriously. If you don't feel you have what it takes, then when we get back to the lab tomorrow, I want you to turn in your resignation or whatever to Dr. Brennan. I won't ask any questions, none of us will. But if you agree to be on the team, and you do something to hurt her?"

Booth's jaw tensed and he subconsciously cracked his knuckles against his sides, "Well…."

Nothing more needed to be said about that.


	4. Chapter 4

Sweets kept his eyes turned downward and focused on the blades of grass near his fingers. Then with a masked indifference, he looked back up, as if to examine the rest of the men in the group. They appeared to be listening to Agent Booth as he continued his talk.

"Now, Dr. Saroyan…" Booth smiled, "She's your boss, so you gotta listen to her. But Cam…she's smart. She's street smart. And she can handle herself in any situation. You guys gotta respect her." He shifted his weight and paused, "But with Dr. Brennan…well, you see, she's a special kind of smart. The kind that doesn't need to be told how smart. So don't be complimenting her like crazy. She doesn't like that."

Sweets hid a grin at that. He'd never once heard anything from Dr. Brennan on this, and he guessed it was more Agent Booth who didn't care for his partner to receive compliments on her intelligence.

Booth caught his eye and flushed a bit, but continued.

"And I know a lot of you are as smart as her, but…"

He was interrupted by the chuckles that echoed through the group.

"We're not as smart as her, Agent Booth" Wendell grinned, "Nobody is as smart as her."

Booth's chest puffed out a bit with pride and he put his hands on his hips, "Good to know." He chuckled too, then grew serious, "But here's the thing. She cares. And her way of showing that is sticking with you. She could do whatever she wanted, wherever she wanted, but…she chooses to work with us. Don't _ever_ take that for granted. You got me?"

There were nods around the group, and Booth bit his bottom lip for a moment.

Sweets watched as Booth seemed to be satisfied with how his talk went.

"Well" Booth clapped his hands once, "Enough of that for now. Next…let's check out the ropes course."

Sweets felt a moment of panic at those words.

--b&b--

The men packed up their tents and bags at Booth's command. "Won't be needing them tonight" was all he'd elaborate.

"Hodgins, aren't you coming?" Sweets asked him as he saw the other man walking in the opposite direction.

"Nope, I'll catch up with you guys later. I promise."

Booth slapped Sweets on the shoulder, "Ready?"

"Oh, yeah, um…I was thinking" Sweets pressed his palms together, "Maybe I should just observe this. You know, for research, and…all of that…"

"Yeah right" Booth laughed. "Not happening, Sweets. You wanted to come along, so this is what we're doing. Come on…" he slapped him on the back again and grinned. "It will be good for you. A team building exercise. I _know_ you love those!"

Sweets grumbled a response and watched as Booth ran ahead to talk to the rest of the group.

--b&b--

"Come on, you can do it, man!"

Booth watched from about twenty feet below as his plan was working. Once he'd gotten them started on the course, it hadn't taken long for most of the guys to get into it. And by this point, they were encouraging each other. Like a _team_.

"You know" a voice spoke up from beside him. "What you're doing here. It's a good thing."

Booth rolled his eyes and nodded. "Pops, I know. I got it. Stop telling me that! I get it, I really do" Booth insisted. "I'm not an idiot. At least…not compared to _normal _people."he muttered.

Pops chuckled. "I know, I know. But that's not what I'm talking about."

Booth put his hands on his hips. "I'm making sure these guys all know what it's like to be on a team, AND I'm making sure Bones can trust them. What else is there?"

Pops nodded slightly, "Right, right…no, no, you're right. That's what you're doing. And it's working, and I gotta tell you, it's…"

"A good thing. Got it" Booth grumbled.

When Pops didn't continue, he spared him a glance, "So, uh…what's the other thing that's happening?"

Pops smiled and backed away slowly toward the beginning of the course. "You're making sure that you trust them, too."

Booth swallowed and shifted his weight as he considered what to say to that.

"Don't worry" Pops saluted him, "Your secret is safe with me."

Booth looked around and then up again to where the guys were gathering up on the platform. Pulling in a deep breath, he knew it was time for the next part of his plan.

"Are you sure this is safe?' Sweets mumbled ahead of Booth as they climbed up the rope ladder to the next obstacle.

"I'm sure, Sweets." Booth assured him, "Besides, you're wearing a safety harness, so, you know…even if you do fall." Booth paused as he saw the young doctor's face pale, "Which you won't…but if you do, you'll be fine. I mean it."

Sweets paused, then looked down. "You're not wearing a harness."

Booth shrugged a shoulder. "Cause I'm not going to fall."

"Right" Sweets shook his head. "Unbelievable."

They were the last to make it to the platform, and the rest of the team was waiting there for Booth's next instructions.

He stood toward the middle of the wood panel and looked around. "Very impressive, gentlemen. Good teamwork, good communication." He began pacing a bit, "That's what's really needed in the lab. Dr. Brennan might not tell you that, but she relies on it. Each member of the team needs to be aware of his surroundings. Otherwise, in that type of environment, there can be…"

His 'danger' was lost as he accidentally tripped on a branch on the platform and fell backward.

Booth closed his eyes and let his arms fall to his side as the air brushed against his body.

And at the last moment, he felt a grip on his ankle…

--b&b--


	5. Chapter 5

"Help!" He heard a voice call from above him, and there was slight pressure on his ankle as it was being pulled in the opposite direction of gravity. With a grunt, he swung his other leg in that direction and felt a hand grip it as well.

Using his ab muscles he leaned forward a bit to see who had him. "Thanks Wendell" he forced a smile.

The blond scientist was frozen in shock, but then twisted his neck around. "Okay…someone…hold on to my waist, and then someone else…"

But he didn't need to finish because the rest of the men were in place. They were balancing their weight and leaning back to help pull Booth up.

"Don't worry, Agent Booth" Booth heard "We'll have you up in a moment."

Booth nodded. "Okay, Wendell. When I swing up, you let go of one of my legs and I'll grab your arm, got it?"

Wendell swallowed and nodded. "Yes sir."

Booth grunted and swung his upper half upward, reaching his arm out. At the right moment, Wendell released his leg, and they both gasped as Booth had to press even further to grab his arm. But then they were connected and Booth did the same with his other leg.

Now that he was in better control of his body, Booth was able to help pull himself up onto the platform.

When he got there, he watched as the rest of the men stared at him, shocked at what had just happened.

All except for one.

"You guys saved my life. Thanks" Booth nodded sincerely, and looked toward Pops.

Pops just smiled and saluted him again.

Booth chuckled and motioned for the next rope. "Okay, boys…up to the zipline. And once you reach the ground, Hodgins will be there for the next part of the day."

One by one, the men strapped into the new harness and then jumped off the platform to their next destination.

Booth chuckled as he heard their shouts and he knew they were exhilarated.

"Okay, Sweets…you're up" He pointed when they were the last two left.

"Dude…" Sweets shook his head and took off his helmet. "What the hell was that?"

Booth's eyebrows rose at Sweets' tone. "Excuse me?"

"You planned that!" Sweets slashed a hand through the air. "You could have died."

Booth looked at him for a moment, then motioned over toward the edge. "I know people say to not look down, but I'm saying now…look down."

Sweets swallowed and stayed where he was. "I don't like heights."

"No kidding" Booth chuckled. "Fine. Suit yourself. But you'll never know the truth."

Sweets frowned and looked around before walking in Booth's direction. As he looked down, he noticed that the ground below wasn't as far down as he'd thought it would be, and that underneath the brush below were two mattresses, covered in green fabric.

"You totally planned this."

Booth patted him on the back. "Sweets…I had to be sure, okay?"

Sweets looked at him and then nodded, putting his helmet back on his head.

They both walked over to the zip line, and Sweets got hooked in. "I'm not so sure about this."

"It's all good, Sweets. I'm right behind you" Booth told him as he pushed him off the edge.

--b&b—

Booth laughed as he zipped down the line, enjoying the feel of the wind in his face. He hadn't done this for a long time.

His grin grew much bigger at the astonished looks on the rest of the faces waiting to greet him at the end of the line.

"Where are we?" Fischer asked.

Booth tilted his head to the right and pointed. "Let me get our host, and I'll let him explain."

"No need" a voice spoke from behind, and everyone turned.

"Dr. Hodgins?" Nigel-Murray asked.

He just smiled and opened his hands toward them. "Welcome to my home."

--b&b--


	6. Chapter 6

Hodgins tossed Booth his keys and then turned and motioned for the group to follow. "Booth, you coming for the tour?"

Booth caught the keys in the air and shook his head. "Nah, I'll fire up the grill. I'll catch you guys later."

He and Hodgins shared a look, and the scientist nodded as he turned away. "Right this way gentlemen."

There were lots of surprised looks at the openness of the foyer, and Hodgins walked slowly as he let his guests get used to the expanse of it all.

"I wanted to talk to you guys about a few things. First of all, this" he motioned all around him. "When I first started working at the Jeffersonian, I was ashamed of all of this. "I didn't want anyone to know, because I thought they would think of me differently." He paused. "Turns out, they thought of me differently when they found out I'd been keeping this part of myself from them"

He smiled and shrugged. "But I learned that the team didn't care about my money. They cared about me as a person, and that was that."

He walked them past the kitchen and toward a large room.

"Dude" Sweets interrupted. "Is that a movie theater?"

Hodgins laughed, "Yeah, we can come back to that later."

He motioned them back down the hallway. "And here…we'll for sure come back here"

This next room was filled, wall to wall to wall with classic guitars.

"Oh. My. God" Clark breathed and Hodgins patted him on the shoulder.

"You'll have to play some of those later." He smiled and motioned for the group to keep following him.

Soon they were walking toward a darker hallway, and Hodgins led the way up a staircase. The door at the top opened to an enclosed walkway of sorts, and they walked what seemed like a quarter of a mile until they reached another door.

Hodgins paused then, but took a deep breath and opened the door, then waited for everyone else to enter in front of him.

"This is a very nice apartment" Vasiri commented.

"Yes" Pops shrugged. "And if I am right, it's right above the garage."

Hodgins closed the door behind him and turned toward them. "That's correct. There is something I want to talk to you all about also."

Sweets caught his eye and nodded, and Hodgins smiled slightly.

"Well…" he cleared his throat. "You see…"

--b&b--

He cleared his throat again and chuckled nervously, "Okay…I'm…just going to give it to you straight, okay?"

They nodded, and he chuckled again and palmed the back of his neck. "Right, okay. So…you guys know, Zack, right?" He paused. "Well, actually you don't know him, that's kind of the whole point, but you know _who_ he is, right?"

"I know who he is" Sweets encouraged. He could hardly believe what was happening here. This was growth way beyond anything he'd ever seen from the team.

"Right" Hodgins nodded. "Well, he lived here." He smiled. "And he was my best friend. He IS my best friend" Hodgins clarified. "I don't get to see him much, but he just…got me, you know?"

He didn't wait for a response, "So if I've been distant from you guys, it's not personal, it's just…personal for me, if that makes sense. I feel responsible for Zack; I felt responsible for him. So I take some of the blame for not seeing what was really going on.

Sweets bit his tongue at the knowledge he had at his disposal. But this wasn't really the place to expose what Zack had told him that night, was it?

"Zack lived here, and…he helped fashion the silver skeleton here. And…" Hodgins pressed his lips together and pulled in a deep breath, "I believe that he is the one who sent Dr. Brennan the jawbone."

Hodgins' face grew hard. "And, I'll echo what Booth said. Dr. Brennan is strong, she is. But I don't care who you are, you don't bounce back from that all the way. So…once again, if you are involved in anything, anything that could cause Dr. Brennan or Angela or Cam or any of us pain…just get out. No questions asked, no in depth profiles. But…we can't have that on our team."

Hodgins was met with silence, but he seemed pleased that he'd gotten to say what he needed to. He smiled softly and motioned toward the door. "Now, let's see how Booth is doing with the grill, shall we?"


	7. Chapter 7

Booth chuckled to himself as he saw the subdued looks on the faces of the men joining him in the back courtyard.

Hodgins caught his eye and nodded, and Booth nodded in return.

"How are those steaks coming?" Hodgins asked, and Booth flipped one in the air.

"Perfect" Booth grinned. "They are almost ready."

Hodgins smiled and walked over toward the house, pressing a button. Almost immediately, a wait staff arrived with covered dishes and tables and chairs.

The squints watched in fascination as an outdoor dining room was set up in a matter of minutes.

"Have a seat, gentlemen" Hodgins smiled.

Booth chuckled again as he turned back toward the grill. It was pretty damn impressive.

"Hey, uh…"

Booth turned to see Sweets standing near him.

"Can I talk to you about something?"

"Hmmm" Booth looked around him and saw a man standing by, "Sure."

He handed the grilling fork off and then followed Sweets a few feet away. "What's up, Sweets?"

Sweets swallowed and then nodded, "There's something I need to confess."

--b&b—

"Ookay…" Booth crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Like what?"

Sweets took a deep breath. "Well, please don't, I don't know, punch me in the face or anything, but…do you remember this morning when you were talking about not deliberately hurting Dr. Brennan?"

Booth's eyebrows rose. "Yes…" He shifted his stance to an even more aggressive one. "What's this about?"

"Yeah…" Sweets nodded. "Well, you see…remember last year or so, when I may or may not have withheld the information that you were actually alive from Dr. Brennan?"

"May or may not?" Booth growled.

"Okay, okay!" Sweets admitted. "I withheld it. But uh…well, I did it on purpose. Not…" he cleared his throat. "Not because I thought it was a matter of national security, but because…because I wanted to see how Dr. Brennan would react."

Sweets waited as Booth's eyes darkened with the rage he knew was barely suppressed. He supposed he deserved whatever Booth's reaction was, but he really, really, really hoped it wasn't death.

"I see" Booth nodded and pressed his tongue to the inside of his mouth.

"I'm really, really sorry" Sweets nodded. "I swear. And…I don't know, I didn't know Dr. Brennan that well then. I shouldn't have done it in the first place, but, now that I know her a little better, and you…well, I know I really shouldn't have done it. I'm sorry."

Booth looked at his feet for a few moments, then looked at Sweets. "Okay. I accept your apology. On one condition."

"Name it" Sweets promised.

"I don't want Bones to know about this. Just…don't tell her, okay? She doesn't need to know."

Sweets chuckled. "Well, that's kind of hard to do, because…she already knows."

"She does? You told her?" Booth asked.

"No, man. She figured it out. That first day. And she totally called me on it right then."

Booth's eyebrows rose. "She knows?"

"Yes"

"And she told you?"

"Yes" Sweets repeated. "She said she knew I'd done it as an experiment and that I should cut it out. And that I was lucky you didn't know, because then you would…"

"I would what?' Booth wanted to know.

"Beat me up." Sweets admitted.

Booth laughed and shook his head. "Unbelievable." He shook his head again. "She's unbelievable, you know?"

Sweets just nodded. "Sure…so, uh…are you going to beat me up?"

Booth looked back toward the rest of the group. "Nah, if Bones didn't punch you in the face, why should I, right?"

"Right" Sweets gave a nervous laugh. "Right."

Booth just patted him on the arm and started walking toward the group.

"That's when she forgave you, you know." Sweets' words made him pause.

Booth didn't turn around, but just nodded slightly and continued walking.

--b&b--

The next morning…

Brennan stood on the forensic platform with her arms crossed, one foot tapping impatiently.

"Bren, they'll be here soon. Just relax." Angela encouraged her, "Besides, you don't want Booth to think you've been waiting for them this whole time, do you?"

Brennan paused. "I haven't been waiting. And I am relaxed."

Angela's lips curled in a small smile. "Sure, sweetie. My mistake."

Brennan turned to prove just how relaxed she was when she heard the sound of laughter from behind her.

"You're wrong, dude!"

She whirled around in time to see Wendell shove Vasiri in the arm as they joked about something. And just in time to see Booth bound up the steps, scanning his card and then stand right beside her.

"Heya Bones, miss me?"

"Hardly" she snorted, and ignored Angela's slight cough. "Did you enjoy your completely irrelevant playtime?"

Booth shook his head, and didn't answer, but just turned to rest his back against the empty forensic table. He cleared his throat then, and it became quiet in the lab.

Brennan turned as well and watched as all of her students came to stand at the foot of the steps.

"Good morning, Dr. Brennan" they each greeted her, one by one, before moving over to their work stations.

As the last one filed away, Brennan turned to look at Booth. "What exactly did you do on this trip?"

"Nope, Bones. Can't tell you" he smiled and held up two fingers. "It's a guy thing."

Brennan rolled her eyes. "Oh really. I suppose you _trust them with your life_ now, or something like that."

Booth smiled and pushed off from the table. "Yep…" he walked down the steps, and then turned to look at her. "And yours…"

Brennan kept her gaze locked with his as he walked backward out of the lab before reaching the exit.

After realizing she'd been staring in the same direction for moments after he was gone, she cleared her throat and turned around.

Standing up straight, she clapped her hands twice. "Students! Come here, please. There is something interesting I'd like to show you."

She watched as all of them walked toward her, and felt a warmth in her stomach at the way they listened attentively to what she had to say.

"In conclusion" she completed her hands on lecture around the table. "I hope you'll take this knowledge and apply it to a future case you might work on."

Each man nodded and smiled as they left the platform.

Brennan was surprised when she heard Clark laugh. "King of the Lab!" he shouted.

Nigel Murray shook his head beside him. "For now, but I'm going to get the next one right. Then I'll be king."

Brennan gasped a bit and looked to her right.

Hodgins was at his work station, and he met her eyes and nodded with a slight smile.

--b&b--

The end!

Let me know what you think!


End file.
